In the design world, a river runs between the consultants and in-house designers. I’ve worked at big start-ups, small start-ups, corporations, newspapers, non-profits and universities, and I have hired consultants myself. Having been on the other side, each job unique with its own challenges and joys, set me up to be an empathetic consultant. Here’s what I believe all those years in-house taught me about consulting: Preparing for a consultant is hard Companies hire consultants when they’re short on time, ideas or people. And for those reasons, it can be hard for a company to get all their ducks in a row. This doesn’t mean they don’t care or can’t prioritize the project. In fact, usually it’s the opposite. Working in-house can mean running multiple (probably too many) projects in parallel, staying ahead of competitors, putting out fires, explaining why someone’s something g...